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Friday, June 08, 2012

Review: Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard:

The Particulars: Historical Fantasy,
Angry Robot, available as e-book and in print.

The Source: Purchased at Robot Trading

The Grade: C+

The Blurb:

IT IS THE YEAR ONE-KNIFE IN TENOCHTITLAN - THE CAPITAL OF THE AZTECS. The end of the world is kept at bay only by the magic of human sacrifice. A Priestess disappears from an empty roomdrenched in blood. Acatl, High Priest of the Dead must find her, or break the boundaries between the worlds of th living and the dead. But how do you find someone, living or dead, in a worldwhere blood sacrifices are an everyday occurrence and the very gods stalk the streets?

The Review:

I purchased this one when Angry Robot
had its 50% off sale, mainly since the fact that it was set in Mexico
during the Aztec Empire intrigued me.

I am glad that I purchased it. The
setting felt vividly alive. From the heat, to the temples in the
Sacred District. The existence of Calemacs ( probably spells it
wrong) intrigued me, since I had no idea they existed. It was
interesting to find out more about the temples.

The plot was well paced. It was
interesting to follow Acatl search for clues, and how he hit dead
ends sometimes. I also liked the fact that the plot was propelled
forward by things he found out, and realised their importance. In
some novels it feels like they discover things purely by look. Not
here, here they discovered everything through determination.

The characters were an intriguing mix.
From Acatl, who struggled with his past and his position as High
priest, to his brother, the proud Jaguar Knight. Then
there is Huei, his brother's wife.

What I liked with this book was how the
characters and the plot affected each other, in both good and bad
ways.

So what I didn't like. It took over
50 pages before the book hooked me . In fact, I read 50 pages, and
put it down. It could easily have turned into a DNF for me. That
said, I am glad I decided to pick it up again.

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